Detachable coupling



April 29, 1958 C ER 2,832,943

. DETACHABLE COUPLING Filed Dec. 9, 1954 INVENTOR MORRIS CUTLER BY QMKAQ ATTORNEY Ue rsd Sees DETACHABLE COUPLING Morris Cutler,Philadelphia, Pa.

Application December 9, 1954, Serial No. 474,096

Claims. (Cl. 339-252 f The present invention relates generally'todetachable couplings or connectors and this application is acontinuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial No. 302,433,filed August 2, 1952, now Patent No. 2,701,152, granted February 1,1955.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedconstruction for a detachable coupling or connector. Another object ofthe present'invention is to provide a novel coupler or connector made upof a male element and a female element which can be readily interup of amale coupler element and a female coupler ele- 1 1 ment having opposedgripping jaws; the two elements 'being interconnected by directlongitudinal pressure causing thejaws of the female coupler elementmomentarily to spread apart and thereafter to snap into locking.en-

gagernent within a hole formed in the male coupler ele- 'ment. Whenso'interc'onnected, the twol'elementscan be detached by relative tiltingmotion in a given direction within a predetermined plane; the twoelements being capableof free pivotal movement in other directions andplanes without disconnection.

According to the present lnventlon, I have perfected a further improvedconstruction which gives a more secure interlock between the twoelements and prevents; relative pivotal movement in said'otherdirections and planes and which includes a separate adjustablelocking-member which can be set so as to prevent the disconnectingtilting motion of the two elements.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in theaccompanying drawings forms thereof which 'are presently preferred and.which have been found in lpractice. to give. satisfactory results; itbeing understood, however, that the invention is notlimited to theprecise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, and that the severalparts and elements can be variously arrangedand organized withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential I attributes of this invention.

Referring tolthe. accompanying drawings, in whieh lik:areferencecharacters indicate like parts throughoutz .-:-'Figure 1. isa perspe ctive' yiew of the two partdetachable coupling of thisinvention, shown in interconnected position.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged cross-sectional view lookinggenerally in the direction of the arrows 2-2 .-:Eigure.'3 is a generallyin the opposite direction.

view, like that of Fig. 2, but" looking Figure 4 is a fragmentaryenlarged perspective view showing the male and female coupler elementsof Fig. 1 in disengaged position, but ready for interconnection bydirect pressure.

Figure 5 is a view like that of Fig. 4, but showing the I couplerelements as they appear during the course of the interconnectingoperation, with the jaws of the female element momentarily distended andready to snap into place within the hole of the male element.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary enlarged perspectiveview of ajmodifiedembodiment, with the coupler elements shown as they appear duringthecourseof the disconnecting operation; the jaws of the female elementhaving been distended by the camming finger of the male element.

- In Figs. 1 to 5, I have shown a detachable coupling made up of anelongated female coupler 20 and a male coupler 22. e

In this embodiment, the female coupler 20 is formed of steel or othersuitable resilient material'and generally resembles a cotter-pin inconfiguration, with a spring loop 24 at one end from which extend a pairof elongated arms 26 disposed in side-by-side and slightly outwardlydiverging relationship. The female coupler 20 may be formed ofhalf-round stock, so that the arms 26 have confronting generally planeinner surfaces 28 andconvex generally semi-cylindrical outer surfaces30, as best shown in Fig. 4. Disregarding the slight outwarddivergenceof the two arms 26, it can be seen that, together,

they form a longitudinally split or bifurcated cylinder. For ease ofexplanation, it will be assumed that this split lies in a verticalplane.

The ends of the arms 26 are of reduced thickness and will be assumed tolie in a horizontal plane, with generally parallel top and bottomsurfaces 32 and 34.

.Somewhatinwardly of the outer transverse edges 36 .of the arms 26, thesurfaces 28 are notched so that they form an enlarged. sharp-edged hole38 extending vertically from the top surface '32 to the bottom surface34. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, these notches are formed .by planegenerally transverse walls '40 which extend to generally longitudinalwalls 42 which, in turn, extend to longitudinally inwardly convergingwalls 44, so that the .hole 38 formed thereby. is of non-circularconfiguration,-

' Those portions of the surfaces 28 which lie intermediate the hole 38and the outer'transverse edges 36 diverge outwardly as at 46 to providecamming and guidesurfaces for the male coupler during engagement, aswill b e described hereinbelow.

It'can be seen that the edges 36 and the walls 46, 4'0 and 42 togetherdefine a pair of opposed-undercut spreadable gripping jaws 48 havingsharp inner edges and more or less square outer corners 50.

The male coupler 22 is formed of an elongated length of steel or anyother suitable material and may be of cylindrical configuration. The endof the malecoup-ler ;22 is of reduced thickness and is disposedgenerally in a plane at; right angles to the plane of the end of thefemale coupler 20 described above. It will'be assumed that the reducedend of the male coupler 22 lies generally in a vertical plane, asindicated in Fig. 4. The reducedend is formed by a pair of side walls 52and 5 4 which converge slightly longitudinally outwardly and alsoconverge slightly from top to bottom.

- An outwardly protrudi g .camming finger 56 islforrned at the top ofthe reducedfree end of vthe'malecoupler-"2'2.

At the bottom of said reduced'free 'end, there is formed a shoulder 58which protrudes outwardly-a shorter distance than the camming finger.The vertically disposed intervening end portion 68 has a somewhatsmaller transverse dimension or thickness than the finger 56 andshoulder 58 as best shown in Fig. 4. A thin forward "edge 60 is formedon the portion 68 and extends, in'a surface 64 which forms the innervertical wall of the portion 68 and enables the gripping jaws 48 of thefemale coupler to fit into the hole 62 in snug, 'nontiltablerelationship, as best indicated in Figs. 2 and 3.

Outwardly converging camming surfaces 66 extend generally from the chordsurface 64 of the hole 62 to the thin forward edge 60, as best shown inFigs. 2 and 4.

It is apparent that, when the male and female couplers are broughttogether axially, in the manner indicated in Fig. 5, the outwardlydiverging surfaces 46 of the female coupler will contact the cammingsurfaces 66 of the male coupler. 'When the two coupler elements are thenforced together, the camming action exerted by the surfaces 66 causesthe gripping jaws 48 to be momentarily spread apart so as to ride overthe surfaces 66 and thereafter snap into the hole 62.

The longitudinal dimension of the portion 68 intervening the forwardedge 60 and the chord surface 64 is approximately the same as thelongitudinal dimension of the hole 38, and the longitudinal dimension ofthe gripping jaws 48 is approximately the same as that of the hole 62,so that there is secure metal-tonnetal contact between the contiguoussurfaces of the male and female couplers when in interlocked position,as best indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. This enables the coupling to be usedas an electrical connector if desired.

The non-circular character of the holes 38 and 62, the gripping jaws 48and the intervening portion 68 securely lock the coupler elementsagainst relative rotation or pivotation in a horizontal plane. Thebottom shoulder 58 extends laterally somewhat beyond the hole 38, asbest shown in Fig. 2, and prevents the male coupler from being pivoteddownward (i. e., clockwise) in a vertical plane from the alignedconnected position of Fig. 1. r

I As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the camming finger 56 and the upper end ofthe forward edge 60 extend above and inwardly beyond the hole 38 so asto overlie the slit intervening the plane walls 28 of the femalecoupler. When the male coupler 22 is rotated upward (i. e.,counterclockwise) in a vertical plane from the aligned connectedposition, the edge 60 and the camming finger 56 are forced into the slitso as to spread the gripping jaws (in a manner analogous to that shownin Fig. 6) so as to enable the two coupler elements to be pulled apartand disengaged.

I may provide the female coupler with a longitudinally shiftable lockingmember or sleeve 70. When the sleeve is'positioned near the gripping jawend of the female coupler, it fits snugly about the bifurcated end andpre vents it from being spread apart. Thus, it is impossible to tilt themale coupler to disengaging position, since the sleeve prevents the slitfrom being distended sufficiently to receive the edge 60 and cammingfinger. On the other hand, 'when'the sleeve is shifted (from thesolid-line position to the dash-dot line position of Fig. I the femalecoupler can be'distended to uncoupling position in the manner describedabove.

With the sleeve 70 in locking position, the two coupler elements aresecurely locked against tilting or other relative movement in anydirection.

Thus, it is apparent that, according to the present invention, it ispossible to provide a quick-acting coupling which will hold two partstogether in rigid and securely locked relationship, and which,.at thesame time, can

be easily disconnected. Such a connector has countless importantapplications for industrial and electrical use,

asses-ta 1 F for bracelets and necklaces, for safety belts, parachutes,etc. The coupler can be easily and. inexpensively fabricated and can beconstructed of metal, synthetic resin, wood or any other suitablematerial, and can be made as strong as needed for virtually anyapplication.

In Fig. 6, there is shown a modified embodiment of the present inventionemploying a female coupler 72 which is constructed of cylindrical stock(like the male coupler 22) with an end of reduced thickness formed bygenerally parallel top and'botto'm walls 74 and 76. Somewhat inward ofthe outer transverse edge 78, there is formed a hole 80 which extendsvertically from the top surface 74 to the bottom surface 76 and isgenerally similar in shape to the hole 38 described hereinabove. Anoutwardly diverging slot 82 extends from the hole 80 to the edge 78 soas to form opposed gripping jaws 84, like the jaws 48 described above.To impart the necessary resilience to the jaws 84, I provide anelongated slot 86 intermediate the surfaces 74 and 76 and extendingvlongitudinally an appreciable distance inward from the hole 80.

. The operation of this embodiment is the same as that of the embodimentof Figs. 1 to.5. That is, the coupler elements72 and 22 are connected bydirect pressure (the surfaces of the slot 82 riding over the cammingsurfaces 66 to spread the jaws 84 and to enable the jaws thereafter tosnap into the hole 62). The coupler elements are locked againstpivotation except in the vertical plane,

in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 6, which causes the cammingfinger 56 to enter and spread the slot 86 and thereby distend thegripping jaws to permit disconnection of the coupler elements in amanner similar to that described above. A locking member or sleeve 70may also be provided for the female coupler 72, its operation being likethat described above.

6 The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms and,accordingly, the above-described embodiments are to be regarded merelyas illustrative, and not restrictive, reference being made to theappended claims, rather than the'foregoing specification, as indicatingthe scope of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to protectby Letters Patent the following:

1. A detachable coupling comprising a male coupler having an end portionprovided with outwardly tapered camming surfaces terminating in a thinforward or outer edge, a protruding cainming finger formed. at one endof said forward edge and a protruding shoulder formed at the other endof said forward edge, said intervening tapered end portion having alesser thickness than the finger and the shoulder, said end portionhaving a sharp-edged noncircular hole extending transversely vtherethrough and spaced somewhat longitudinally inward of said forwardedge; and a female coupler having an end portion bifurcated by a slotextending longitudinally inward from dinally inward of said forward edgeso as to provide a sharp-edged non-circular hole extending through saidend portion and providing a pair of undercut opposed resilient grippingjaws at said forward edge, the inward spacing of the holes in the maleand female coupler-s being generally the same; said male and femalecouplers being attachable by bringing their forward edges together in 90degree axially rotated position so that the thin forward edge of themale coupler fits against the end of the slot of the female coupler andby thereafter forcing the couplers longitudinally toward each other soas to cause the camming surfaces of the male coupler to enter anddistend the slot of the female coupler thereby to spread the grippingjaws until they pass over the intervening portion of the male couplerand snap together snugly within the male coupler hole, the aforesaidintervening portion of the male coupler being positioned snugly 'withinthe non-circular hole of the female coupler, whereby the two couplersare securely interconnected in c0- axial aligned relationship and arelocked against separation by longitudinal pulling force and are alsolocked against relative lateral movement and against pivotation in theplane of the gripping jaws, the protruding shoulder of the male couplerhaving a greater transverse dimension than the contiguous portion of thefemale coupler slot so as to prevent pivotation in one direction in theplane normal to the plane of the gripping jaws, pivotation in theopposite direction in the aforesaid normal plane causing the camrningfinger to enter and distend the slot of the female coupler so as tospread the gripping jaws and to permit disengagement of the couplers.

2. A construction according to claim 1 wherein the female coupler isprovided with a snugly fitting locking sleeve which can be shiftedaxially along the female coupler and, when positioned adjacent thegripping jaws, serves to prevent them from being spread apart, therebylocking the couplers against disengagement and maintaining them againstpivotation in any direction from their co-axial aligned relationship.

3. A construction according to claim 1 wherein the female coupler isshaped generally like a cotter-pin with a spring loop at one end fromwhich extend a pair of elongated side-by-side arms forming thebifurcated end portion.

4. A construction according to claim 1 wherein the female coupler is forthe most part unslotted with the bifurcating slot extending inward onlyalong the end portion.

5. A construction according to claim 1 wherein the couplers are formedof electrically conducting metal or the like so that the coupling can beused as a quick attachable and detachable electrical connector.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS717,371 Faulkner Dec. 30, 1902 1,550,828 Lonsdale Aug. 25, 1925 202,441,921 Reynolds May 18, 1948 2,701,152 Cutler Feb. 1, 1955

